Get ready, Stranger Things fans! Time to say goodbye to dubious theories and hello to a robust confirmation from the creators themselves. The Duffer Brothers set the record straight about one outrageous theory that has been simmering in the fandom melting pot.
As the gory-infused, neon-lit narrative inexorably meanders towards its fifth and final season, the 1980's Hawkins town story, teeming with supernatural shenanigans and high school heartaches, remains in suspense. But a resounding rebuttal is in for the theory proposing that the entire drama in Stranger Things was merely the imaginative product of a wild Dungeons and Dragons campaign.
Matt Duffer, one-half of the fantastical fiction-forging fraternal duo, flatly denied such an ending, likening it to an overdrawn and overused trope of 'it was all just a dream.' He stated this during an interview with Metro.co.uk — a message surely loud and clear enough to travel to the furthest corners of the Upside Down!
This banishment of the D&D theory from our anticipatory expectations is a breather, for certain. It seemed plausible enough, with Townsend's teenage tyrant Vecna, the show's human embodiment of the iconic D&D villain, and the striking synchronicity between the storyline and the parallel regions of D&D. Yet, the theory stumbles when considering the creatures of the show borrowing their ominous titles from the D&D universe. A testament to the boys' limited worldview, perhaps?
Our beloved Stranger Things characters have proven to be more than just relics of a retrospective fantasy. Like avid spectators, they wade through the murky waters of the Upside Down with us, discovering secrets and navigating complex plots with governmental involvement. To reduce the captivating drama to merely a board game saga? That risks diminishing the profound poignant moments and, let's not overlook, Stranger Things Season 4's heart-stopping cliffhanger ending.
Despite its roots dug deep within popular tropes, the 'It Is All A D&D Game' theory failed to latch onto reality. The Duffer Brothers assure us that they've been steering the Stranger Things ship towards a particular destination for a while now, and it doesn't involve concluding their narrative with an intricate, quasi-meta game of D&D.
So, as we pry our eyes and ears away from the debunked rumor and eagerly await the arrival of the final season to answer our lingering questions, rest assured, emotionally-packed character development and life-altering circumstances lie in the road that the residents of Hawkins are set to tread.
Get ready for the Stranger Things culmination, as we march towards the denouement of one of Netflix’s flagship series. Our journey via Hawkins and the Upside Down is approaching its grand finale - may it be as impactful as we hope, and far richer than a game of D&D!
Now it’s time to binge-watch seasons 1-4 again, isn't it?
